Adolescent Suicide Prevention: Recognizing Teens at Risk & Responding Effectively

Suicide is a major public health concern. Over 44,000 people die by suicide each year in the United States. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for young people aged 10-24 both in the United States and worldwide. Suicide is complicated and tragic but it is often preventable. Knowing the warning signs for suicide and how to get help can save lives.

National experts convened in late January for a workshop involving Adolescent Suicide Prevention, exploring techniques for early detection and management of young people at risk. (The 3 1/2 hour session was presented on January 24, 2018.)

View Video of Session Presentation | Learn More about NIMH Suicide Prevention Efforts

Attendees at this talk learned about how to assess for imminent suicidal risk, develop a safety plan, and about strategies for reduction in risk that cut across clinical settings, are setting-specific, and have some empirical support. Finally, it concluded with four possible approaches to clinical assessment of suicidal risk that could improve our performance in prediction and intervention over the current standard.

Introduction by Maryland Pao, M.D., Clinical Director, National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH)

Keynote by David A. Brent, M.D., University of Pittsburgh, What Do I Do Now? A Clinician’s Guide to the Assessment and Management of Youth at Imminent Risk for Suicidal Behavior

Elizabeth Ballard, Ph.D., NIMH, The Neurobiology of Suicide Attendees of this talk will learn strategies for working with suicidal patients, particularly within psychiatric inpatient settings. Ethical concerns when conducting research with suicidal individuals will also be highlighted. Lastly, recent findings on acute risk factors for suicidal thoughts, including sleep, will be presented.

Other speakers included:
Lisa Horowitz, PhD, MPH, NIMH, Screening for Suicide Risk in the Medical Setting: Turning Research into Clinical Practice

Anne Moss Rogers, Beacon Tree Foundation, Turning Pain into Purpose – Finding hope after losing my son

Argyris Stringaris, MD, PhD, MRCPsych, NIMH

CEUs will not be offered for viewing the event online.